Carburetor air intake acceleration control

ABSTRACT

A pneumatically operated control valve for use in a carburetor air intake acceleration control. The pneumatically operated valve includes a housing having inlet and outlet ports and a hollow stationary shaft secured to the housing and extending toward one of the ports to receive at the end of the shaft a valve member. The valve member is movably secured to the shaft so as to slide on the shaft and overlie the port thereby controlling the flow of fluid through the valve. A pneumatic control chamber is formed within the valve member and in fluid communication with an air supply through the hollow portion of the stationary shaft. The control chamber has a movable wall therein formed by a diaphragm connected between the valve member and the end of the shaft. Applying air pressure to the control chamber of the valve member causes the valve member and the control chamber to be actuated.

United States Patent lnventor Goerge A. Soberski Des Plaines, lll. Appl. No. 717,737 Filed Apr. 1, 1968 Patented July 27, 1971 Assignee Eaton Yale & Towne Inc.

CARBURETOR AIR INTAKE ACCELERATION 2,731,803 1/1956 Reed 2,925,987 2/1960 Priesmeyer Primary ExaminerM. Cary Nelson Assistant ExaminerMichael O. Sturm Attorney-Hill, Sherman, Meroni, Gross & Simpson ABSTRACT: A pneumatically operated control valve for use CONTROL in a carburetor air intake acceleration control. The pneumati- 5 Claims, 2 Drawing Figs cally operated valve includes a housing having inlet and outlet ports and a hollow stationary shaft secured to the housing and US. extending toward one of the orts to re eive at the end of the 26V64 shaft a valve member. The valve member is movably secured [51] int. Cl ..Flk'3l/36S to h h ft so as to S|ide on the h ft d overlie the pol-t [501 Field of Search 137/267; thereby controlling the fl f fl id through the valve A 251/144, 61-3, 61-4, 6] 261/64 pneumatic control chamber is formed within the valve member and in fluid communication with an air su pl [56] References Cm through the hollow portion of the stationary shaft. The con lr l UNITED STATES PATENTS chamber has a movable wall therein formed by a diaphragm 862,867 8/ 1907 Eggleston 25 1 /6l .1 UX connected between the valve member and the end of the shaft. 1,1 15,676 1 1/1914 Johnson 251/615 X Applying air pressure to the control chamber of the valve 2,672,085 3/1954 Fischen... 251/25 X member causes the valve member and the control chamber to 2,725,988 12/1955 Miller 251/144 X be actuated.

CARBURETOR AIR INTAKE ACCELERATION CONTROL BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention I This invention relates generally to a pneumatically operated control valve and more particularly to a pneumatically operated control valve which is actuated without the use of mechanical levers or push rods between a pneumatic control chamber and a valve member. Specifically, the present invention is directed to a pneumatically operated control valve which has particular utility when used in conjunction with carburetor air intake systems of automobiles to provide an acceleration control in the intake system of the automobile.

2. Description of the Prior Art Heretofore, pneumatically operated control valves or devices were actuated by a mechanical linkage between the diaphragm portion of a control chamber and the device or valve member being moved. This method is found adequate in many instances but does require additional components for the proper operation of the device being actuated as well as being relatively more expensive due to the addition of components and time required to assemble a pneumatically operated system using this type of pneumatic actuator. Also, in places of limited access, it is difficult to find sufficient space to fasten the mechanical linkage between the device being actuated and the movable diaphragm of a pneumatic control chamber.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a pneumatically controlled valve wherein the pneumatic control chamber is formed as an integral part of the valve member.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a pneumatically operated control valve having a minimum number of components and which valve is inexpensive to manufacture and simple to assemble.

Briefly, the pneumatically operated control valve of the present invention includes a housing, which may be formed as part of the air intake system of an automobile. The housing has formed therein air inlet and outlet ports. The inlet port is formed as part of an air scope of an automobile and the outlet port is in fluid communication with the air horn. of the carbu' retor of the automobile. A hollow shaft is fixedly secured to the valve housing and extends toward one of the ports such that the end of the shaft terminates a distance slightly beyond the port. A valve member is slidably secured on the shaft and overlies the port. The valve member includes -a pneumatic control chamber formed as an integral part thereof. The control chamber is in fluid communication with an air supply through the hollow shaft which causes the valve member to move on the shaft due to variations in pressure within the control chamber.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Other objects, features and advantages will be more fully realized and understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which like reference numerals throughout the various views of the drawings are intended to designate similar elements or components and wherein:

FIG. 1 is an elevational sectional view of the pneumatically operated control valve of the present invention shown in the open position; and

FIG. 2 is an elevational sectional view of the control valve of FIG. 1 shown in the closed position.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Seen in FIG. 1 is a control valve which is constructed in accordance with the principles of this invention and includes a housing having a port 11 formed therein and defined by an annular seat 12. The annular seat 12 is formed by a rolled over portion 13 of the housing 10. It will be understood that the port 11 may define either the inlet port or the outlet port, depending upon the manner in which the valve is installed in an air scope of an automobile. Also, the housing portion 10 may be formed as part of the air scope thereby reducing the number of components in the carburetor air intake accelerator control system.

A second port 14 is formed by an annular opening'in the housing 10. A plurality of support flanges 16 may extend from the center of the housing to the sidewalls thereof to provide sufficient rigidity as well as sufficient open area to allow air to pass through the valve.

A hollow shaft 17 has a threaded intermediate portion 18 extending through an aperture 19 of the housing 10. The hollow shaft 17 is secured to the housing by means of a locknut 20 threadedly engaging the threaded portion 18. An enlarged diameter portion 21, of the shaft 17, provides a stop to cause the shaft to be secured to the housing 10 between the stop, formed by the enlarged diameter portion 21, and the locknut 20. A nipple 22 is formed at the end of the shaft 17 opposite the enlarged diameter portion 21 and is adapted to receive a hose which, in turn, may be connected to an air supply. It will be understood that the air supply may be either positive pressure or negative pressure depending upon the configuration of the pneumatic control valve. When the pneumatic control valve of the present invention is used in carburetor air intake systems the air supply is source of negative pressure or vacuum developed by the air intake system of the engine of the automobile.

A valve member 23 is secured to the shaft 17 at the end of the enlarged diameter portion 21. A dish-shaped flow control valve element 24 includes a downwardly turned cylindrical portion 28 which slidably engages the enlarged diameter portion 21 of the shaft 17. The radially extending dish-shaped portion overlies the port 11 and engages the seat 12 to control the flow of air through the valve.

A recess portion 27 is formed between the dish-shaped portion 24 and the cylindrical wall portion 26. The recess portion 27 serves to reduce the overall size of the pneumatic control chamber formed on the valve member as well as providing sufficient rigidity to the valve member for proper operation thereof.

A subhousing 28 is secured to the dish-shaped portion 24 and forms the enclosure for a pneumatic control chamber 29. The annular periphery of the subhousing 28 is provided with a plurality of rivetlike portions 30 which extend into corresponding apertures 31 formed within the dish-shaped valve member 24.

A rolled bead 32 is formed about the peripheral edge of the subhousing 28 to form a retainer cavity 33 between the subhousing 28 and the dish-shaped valve member 24. An enlarged cross section portion 34 at the periphery of a diaphragm 36 is confined within the retainer cavity 33 to secure the diaphragm in position. The diaphragm 36 forms the movable wall portion of the control chamber 29.

The diaphragm 36 is formed about a cup-shaped backup plate 37. The central portion 39 of the diaphragm are positioned in a reduced diameter portion or groove 40 of the stationary shaft 17. The groove 40 is preferably formed by a rolled over portion 41 to cause the central portion of the backup plate and of the diaphragm to be fixedly secured to the end of the shaft 17. A spring 42 is positioned within the control chamber 29 between the subhousing 28 and the backup plate 37 The spring 42 biases the subhousing 28, as well as the dish-shaped valve member 24, away from the backup plate 37 and the shaft 17 to maintain the valve in the open position, as shown in FIG. 1.

When the nipple 22 of the shaft 17 is connected to a source of vacuum, the chamber 29 is evacuated sufficient to cause the atmospheric pressure about the chamber to collapse the spring 42 and cause the valve member 24 to slide down the shaft 17 and close the valve. It will be understood that the lower portion 29a of the control chamber 29 is vented to atmosphere either through apertures formed within the recessed portion 27 or through suitable currents between the cylindrical portion 26 and the shaft 17.

Also, it will be noted that the axial extent of the cylindrical portion 26 is such that the cylindrical portion engages the base of the housing at the same time as the valve member engages the annular seat 12. This feature reduces the flexure of the valve member thereby allowing the valve member to be constructed of relatively light weight sheet metal.

In operation, the nipple 22 is connected to the source of vacuum of the engine of an automobile. When the vacuum is equivalent to eight inches of mercury (Hg) the valve will be in the closed position, as shown in FIG. 2. As the automobile aecelerates, causing a drop in vacuum in the carburetor system of the engine, the valve member will be urged upward by the spring 42 to open the valve. For example, a vacuum of five inches of mercury (Hg) or less is sufficient to cause the valve to open.

Therefore, the pneumatically operated control valve of the present invention provides means for controlling the flow of air through an air scope without the necessity of mechanical linkages between the pneumatic actuator and the valve member. Accordingly, it will be understood that variations and modifications may be effected without departing from the spirit and scope of the novel concepts of this invention.

lclaim:

l. A pneumatic control comprising:

a sheet-form, cylindrical housing having an open end forming a controlled airflow port and means forming'a second port in said housing communicating with said controlled port;

an axially extending support shaft fixedly secured to said housing;

sheet-form means forming a circular valve member overlying said housing open end and having peripheral edge portions cooperable with said housing to control airflow through said controlled airflow port, said sheet-form means having a centrally disposed clearance aperture formed therein and slidingly received on said support shaft for guiding movement of said valve member axially of said shaft between an open position for admitting air through said housing and a close position for preventing air flow through said housing; means sealingly secured to said valve member and forming an air chamber; passageway means forming an air passage into said air chamber; a flexible diaphragm extending across said air chamber and having peripheral edge portions attached to said valve member and a central portion attached to said post in a manner to form a movable wall for said air chamber; and

resilient biasing means urging said valve member toward one of its positions on said support shaft,

whereby the pneumatic forces within said air chamber opposing the bias of said resilient means is varied to control movement of said valve member for controlling the flow of air through said control airflow port.

2. A pneumatic control as defined in claim 1,

said sheet-form, cylindrical housing having a rolled-over edge portion forming an annular valve seat for said control airflow port; and

said sheet-form valve member having a dished configuration for cooperation with said rolled-over edge of said housing to provide a self-aligning valve.

3. A pneumatic control as defined in claim 1,

said sheet-form valve member having a centrally disposed, recess portion offset inwardly of said cylindrical housing for increasing the rigidity of said valve member.

4. A pneumatic control as defined in claim 1,

said valve member having a stop portion formed thereon for cooperation with a portion of said housing to limit the movement of said valve member toward the close positron so that excessive forces are not applied to the peripheral edge portions of said circular valve member as the same engages said housing, thereby permitting the valve member to be constructed of relatively lightweight sheet material. 5. A pneumatic control as defined in claim 1 wherein said passageway means include, in part, a passage formed within said support shaft and opening to said air chamber. 

1. A pneumatic control comprising: a sheet-form, cylindrical housing having an open end forming a controlled airflow port and means forming a second port in said housing communicating with said controlled port; an axially extending support shaft fixedly secured to said housing; sheet-form means forming a circular valve member overlying said housing open end and having peripheral edge portions cooperable with said housing to control airflow through said controlled airflow port, said sheet-form means having a centrally disposed clearance aperture formed therein and slidingly received on said support shaft for guiding movement of said valve member axially of said shaft between an open position for admitting air through said housing and a close position for preventing air flow through said housing; means sealingly secured to said valve member and forming an air chamber; passageway means forming an air passage into said air chamber; a flexible diaphragm extending across said air chamber and having peripheral edge portions attached to said valve member and a central portion attached to said post in a manner to form a movable wall for said air chamber; and resilient biasing means urging said valve member toward one of its positions on said sUpport shaft, whereby the pneumatic forces within said air chamber opposing the bias of said resilient means is varied to control movement of said valve member for controlling the flow of air through said control airflow port.
 2. A pneumatic control as defined in claim 1, said sheet-form, cylindrical housing having a rolled-over edge portion forming an annular valve seat for said control airflow port; and said sheet-form valve member having a dished configuration for cooperation with said rolled-over edge of said housing to provide a self-aligning valve.
 3. A pneumatic control as defined in claim 1, said sheet-form valve member having a centrally disposed, recess portion offset inwardly of said cylindrical housing for increasing the rigidity of said valve member.
 4. A pneumatic control as defined in claim 1, said valve member having a stop portion formed thereon for cooperation with a portion of said housing to limit the movement of said valve member toward the close position so that excessive forces are not applied to the peripheral edge portions of said circular valve member as the same engages said housing, thereby permitting the valve member to be constructed of relatively lightweight sheet material.
 5. A pneumatic control as defined in claim 1 wherein said passageway means include, in part, a passage formed within said support shaft and opening to said air chamber. 